Ares is the son of Zeus and the Olympian God of War. After years of fighting against The Avengers, Thor, and mostly his own brother Hercules, Ares joined the ranks of the Avengers. He was a member of Tony Stark's official Avengers team and later Norman Osborn's Avengers.

Heavily under rated or....

well lets think about it...ares the god of WAR should be a good hero/villlain i dunno but the way marvel shows him isnt really rite for instance he should be much stronger than class 70 and the whole portrail thing i think should have been like thor as in he has a magical item in his case a massive sword (with fire around it =D) and should have made a stroner hero..his whole character i like in terms of being really bad ass but he gets taken out to easily which is what i dont like ..

unfortunatey i think your right....he should have been somethin like thor in terms of a heroic/villainous figure in the form of a god...in stead they just made him some weak ass......nevermind the powers they havent really explained much about him for him to be in the avengers i know what oyur thinking "what is their to explain he is the go of war" but come on he should be a way more ruthless person and wayyyyy stronger....im not only fixated on him being stronger but the whole idea of him being taken down so easily by ultron just isnt rite

I think they should have first increased his strength. 70 tons is way to weak even wonder man is stronger then he is. They should have then gave him some special weapons. Even hercules has some special weapons and the lions skin that pertects him from all physical damage. Then they should have given him or made him some specail. Like he should have been the best at all fighting styles and been able to like plan things out 300 times faster then yada. Then he would be vicious. But marvel had to make him weak.

I really expected more from Ares. I thought they'd do him as a sort of mix between Deathstroke and Hercules. Incredible intelligence when it comes to all things combat related, a skilled martial artist and with the power to take down armies single handedly. That's not where they went though.

"I really expected more from Ares. I thought they'd do him as a sort of mix between Deathstroke and Hercules. Incredible intelligence when it comes to all things combat related, a skilled martial artist and with the power to take down armies single handedly. That's not where they went though."

Agreed. Isnt he the god of war? They should depict him pulling off some fighting feats the rival the best in the Marvel U (at least)

I haven't read about Marvel's Ares, but from what I've read here, he is way too weak. I mean, sure he probably shouldn't be vastly more powerful then everyone else, but still, the god of war should be the ultimate warrior.

"I really expected more from Ares. I thought they'd do him as a sort of mix between Deathstroke and Hercules. Incredible intelligence when it comes to all things combat related, a skilled martial artist and with the power to take down armies single handedly. That's not where they went though."

Agreed. Isnt he the god of war? They should depict him pulling off some fighting feats the rival the best in the Marvel U (at least)"

"Yeah his fighting skills are crap. You would atleast expect him to have that even if he was weak. They couldn't even do that. Even when he lifted 210 tons he still lost to Thor in fighting skills."

Well Thor's kinda like a god of war, in Norse mythology he was the main warrior of the Norse gods, so I'd think they should be about even..."

In that fight though it was mainly warrior skils being used. They should have atleast let ares win that. In norse mythology your right but Thor wasn't the best he got beat by a giant old women when he came to challenge the giants once lol.

"I really expected more from Ares. I thought they'd do him as a sort of mix between Deathstroke and Hercules. Incredible intelligence when it comes to all things combat related, a skilled martial artist and with the power to take down armies single handedly. That's not where they went though."

Agreed. Isnt he the god of war? They should depict him pulling off some fighting feats the rival the best in the Marvel U (at least)"

I honestly think Cap or Wolverine would make better gods of war."

They probably would. After all, isn't Wolverine sometimes described as 'The best at what he does. And what he does is fight" ?

urmmmm what do you mean by back seat .... but back to topic ares as the god of war has just been a total let down honestly i mean guns...GUNS WTF ok he is the god of war skilled with every weapon and all that atleast make those guns f***ing powerfull, oh yh the only greek god related heroes in DC I know of are Captain Marvel, Wonder Woman and thats it (obviously ares as well) also would he make a good: hero, villain, or aniti-hero ? + what would anyone elses "ideal" ares be like in terms of character appearence and items e.t.c. ?

---just checked up on the DC one...thats much more like it in terms of power and physicial characteristics much better

A bit of a strength upgrade would help but the best impact would be for him to be shown doing more leading in battle situations and devising even more wins (via tactics) than has been shown.Play up the fact that he can fight for weeks without tiring or than he regenerates from damage or that he supposed to be one of the best fighters in the Marvel Universe. Put him up gainst beings that than showcase his fighting prowess (like the Champion) and let them duel it out.

Well he should be a decent challenge for Hercules and thus he should be a better match up than he is for Thor. Thor (classic not current) has many other advatages because of Mjolnir but Ares in theory is a good strategist and thus should be able to play to his advantages and put Thor at a disadvanatage, on battlesfields of his chosing.

Against current Thor, with the Thor power, I find it difficult to imagine his possing much threat at all.

I like Ares and believe Marvel is going to start giving him more face time and respect with War Machine, Hercules, and Dark Avengers. He is even appearing in New Avengers. I would like to see antoher mini. I also really like his quips in Mighty Avengers.

Overall Ares has for most of Marvel history been a b-list villain you pull out every once in a while to annoy Hercules. DC adopted Ares from a Roman standpoint. Marvel adopted him from a Greek standpoint where he is at heart a bloodthirty coward. He has always been portrayed that. To suddenly have him kicking Hercules' butt after so long of being a mid-level threat would be too weird.

The problem partly is that over the last few years Marvel writers have kept bragging about how great a war god Ares is at tactics and everything else, but he was never good at things like that. His fighting styles and strategies revolve around scaring his enemy into submission, but the things he is fighting now do not scare.

I think he should be a bit more of a direct challenge if they keep promoting him like he is. On the other hand it would be weird if he was suddenly a lot better. He is the type of bad ass that brags alot and bullies others when he is more powerful then you, but when someone as big or bigger then him comes up he tends to loose.

Problem is they did not even read mythology correctly. Ares was the god of battle and strife. He was not liked by the Greeks, but he was still respected and feared. People point out that Athena or Heracles beat him in battle but that's bull. Heracles and Ares fought twice, the first time they were broken up by Zeus who refused to allow his least favorite son (Ares) to kill his favorite son (Heracles). The second time Heracles was about to kill Ares's son and Athena distracted Ares which allowed Heracles to wound him in battle and kill Ares's son. Diomedes wounds him because Athena guides his weapon unseen by Ares since she was wearing Hades' helmet. And Athena never fought Ares in a pitched fight she used trickery. So from that standpoint, he and Heracles should be roughly equal. Thor on the other hand would win due to sheer power, though fighting-wise, they should also be about even.

Ares is a God of War (Bloodlust).As MARS, Ares is the God of Rome, Farmers, and War. As Mars, Ares is well liked and worshiped by many for his expanded role.

Thor is the Norse God of War and Thunder/Storms.

Ares/Mars should be able to fight savagely and bloodily. He is not about Tactics, that is Athena's realm. Ares/mars however should be a brawler styled warrior who likes to kill, kill, kill. He should be able to hold his own against Thor. Ares/Mars does not need to as Strong as Thor to do this. Ares/mars is truely immortal as an Olympian. That is his strongest advantage vs Thor, who is a god, but not immortal.

And yes, the Greek gods in Marvel do take a back seat to Thor and the Asgardians (Aesir).

I do want to see more Olympians in the spotlight for awhile. Specially Zues, Ares, Herakles (his greek name), and possiblely a few unique Grrek/roman inspired Heroes. I do miss the Pantheon from the Hulk Comics.

I can understand that marvel wants ares to be a god of war NOT power and strength but if thats the case his tactics and war knowledge should be great than anyone! even Captain america and Ironman. also he should grow more powerful with each war that occurs thats what makes him strong. in his own right he is a powerhouse in marvel but he should be a little stronger to hang with the real powerhouses like Thor and Hulk

technically Ares should be weaker physically than Hercules. That said DC and marvel can @$#%$@#$@ up the original mythology all they want cause they have all these other stories and stuff that did not originally happen.

You just have to go with it. I think DC Ares is too cliche and marvel just had no idea where to put Ares strength wise cause they have all these other heavy hitters. I would guestimate that Ares is stronger that wonderman. Thats all I know.

Tyr was the Norse god of war involving things such as courage in battle, heroic glory, single combat, justice through combat, swords, etc. Odin was the god of war who started wars and could bring about victory in battle.

Tyr and Ares share some characteristics and both were prayed to for courage and victory in battle, but Tyr is the more respected of the two.

As to this threat, I think Ares is strong enough the way he is. As we have seen even in his most recent mini Ares is obessed with victory through shock and awe. He is not about tactics or anything we consider important to modern warfare. He is not this great warrior everyone thinks of him or even a deep thinker. I think the only thing they might need to do is they need to improve his fighting skills some so he is not so easily defeated.

he doesnt need to be stronger just better skilled and written.. the damage he could do to hulk and herc should be astronomical with just lvl 70 ton strength.. his grapple, and various combat techniques in arm and unarm combat should be staggering.. his reflexes should be above hulk's as well he is a god he should be shown with some actual superhuman speed reaction godspeed...

His was great in his mini. Based on that he is underrated. Marvel did start building him up though, but like all characters, its a balancing act. Thor and Superman aren't as strong as they are because they really are that strong. It ties into how respectively they have historic reasons due to when they were created and by who they were created from, and the intent of their creators and how those things progress and evolve with time.

Ares in recent times, has increased in popularity, enough to probably sustain more appearances which could boost his popularity even more, enough to get more minis and one shots, and even maybe one day an ongoing. When, and If, he gets an ongoing, then we can expect that Ares will start being treated more like Hercules and Thor and in Battles, you could probably put him up against Superman without it being considered spite lol

Ares is the God of War, but that doesn't make him the God of Fighters, he has stated as such himself. He is a brawler, he is the savage dog the Olympians turn loss when they need. Granted he knows much about war fighting abilities, he isn't the God of Strategy either, that would be Athena's job. Ares is however the God of Righteous Indignation, so you can see where he gets his temper from. He is also a contradiction, he is the God of Rebellion and Civil Order, and you question why he's messed up?

Now that being said, I do wish Marvel would make him a serious hero/villain. Understandably Bendis and his ilk wanted to put over Sentry by making him rip Ares apart, but Ares should rival Thor in just about everything, with the exception of noble spirit. My biggest problem is how they almost always cow Ares in Thor's presents as if he was scared of him.

@Nova`Prime`:thats Because Thor is half Elder God which is why he can battle against people like Zeus when othe sons of Odin who are entirely asgardian can only lift about 50 tons. If Ares was half elder god then it would make sense for him to Rival Thor in practically everything.

@Thor's hammmer: That argument has merit if Marvel actually would portray Thor as being part Elder God, but they barely touch that aspect of him. And if that was true then why don't other gods do the same thing? Or is it Ares is showing proper respect, which is totally out of character for him.

Arguably Thor does get portrayed like that by Marvel, hardly any other god characters get the special treatment he has, lifting as much as he has, or moving or fast, or enduring as much. In any case, it comes back to the same reasons Hulk generally gets regarded as the strongest, and Marvel wouldn't actively try and push a more relatable character than Spider-Man at the cost of Spider-man.

Ares would have to be half elder god, and generally be created around the same time as Thor with the same intent and subsequent popularity.

Some of his characterization varies as well, his attitude in his mini somewhat contradicts what he said himself under Bendis.

Marvel decided to promote/put the spotlight on Ares in hope of capitalizing on the 'God of War' video game. They have upped his abilities: He's depicted as a much better fighter, a more durable god and he's shown to have honor now. It's my opinion that the first two make sense, but Ares suddenly becoming honorable is B.S. Ares is much better as a villain and should stay one.